Wind energy

Latvia offers favourable opportunities for the development of Wind Power.  The total wind power capacity installed in Latvia in June of 2009, reached around 24.5 MW, most of that capacity installed in the 19.8 MW Wind Farms in Liepaja, on the Baltic coast (UDI, 2009). These farms have 33 Enercon E-40 turbines installed in 2003, which produce around 40 GWh of electric energy per year.  There is great potential for development and several projects are under way.

The areas with the greatest wind speeds are the Baltic Sea coastline and the eastern coast of the Gulf of Riga, in its northern region.  Wind speeds in these areas reach  5.1 – 5.8 m/s.  The width of the Baltic sea is around 15-20 km and the area of the Gulf of Riga is approximately 10-15 km wide.

The sources of renewable energies in 2006 represented 33% of the primary energy quota (AIE, 2006).  In Latvia, electricity produced from renewable sources was much higher (close to 70% of total electricity production).